Thursday, October 27, 2011

If you only turn to butternut or acorn squash for your winter squash fix this time of year, boy are you missing out. Attractively adorned with green stripes, Tabi and I became smitten with this gourd last winter for a number of reasons:

It tends to come in smaller sizes than other winter squash making it easier to handle and better suited for families of two like us.

Like butternut, it’s blissfully naturally sweet. There texture is actually a little creamier.

When sliced and roasted, you can leave the peel on and eat it. That’s right, the thin skin is edible! Peeling winter squash like butternut can be a big pain.

Similar to other winter squash, delicata is very versatile in that it can be added to roasted vegetable medleys, green salads, pizza, soups, stews and baked goods such as these muffins that we have my muffin loving partner to thank for.

The delicate squash puree lends these muffins a subtle earthy sweetness that pairs beautifully with whole grains like quinoa flour and maple syrup. I actually found the flavor improved after a day or two. If you don’t have quinoa flour handy, simply use all whole wheat pastry.

Anybody else loving this squash??

Delicata Squash Muffins

1 medium sized delicate squash

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup delicate squash puree

¼ cup oil of choice

2 large eggs

1/3 cup coconut palm sugar or other sugar of choice

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup walnut pieces

Slice 1 medium sized delicate squash in half and scoop out the seeds. At this point you can lightly coat the flesh in oil and roast at 400 degrees F on a baking sheet until tender or slice into segments and steam until tender. The latter is what we did. Scrap away the flesh from the skin and mash with a fork.

Just wanted to send a quick side note, butternut squash skin is also edible...my favorite way to have it is to roast the squash, skin and all in the oven...it allows the skin to be a nice sticky quality. If I don't need the peel for something I'm making, I slice the butternut squash peel into thin slivers and give it a quick fry in some butter or olive oil and crisp it up, to serve on salads, over the mash, or add a bit of rosemary and sea salt to it to eat as a snack (my Grandfather's favorite treat when he was still with us). Give the skin a try the next time you're cooking butternut squash, I think you'll like it.These muffins look great, will have to give them a go also! Am loving your recipes!

The recipe ingredients call for 1 delicata squash and 1 cup of squash puree. Are these the same thing? The directions don't mention them separately so I assumed that the cooked and mashed squash WAS the puree, but the batter turned out quite thick, like it was missing liquid. Can you please clarify? Thanks.